The Miami Dolphins’ roster reclamation extends well beyond just adding new players via the NFL Draft or picking up key veterans in free agency. The Dolphins are also tasked with making some key personnel decisions with players still on the roster — but may not make financial sense to keep under contract.
One of those players is veteran wide receiver Albert Wilson. Wilson is entering his third season in Miami — but the Dolphins only really got a half of a single season of healthy production from the speedy slot receiver. Wilson suffered a hip injury midway through the 2018 NFL season and, despite playing in 13 games for Miami, looked to only be a shell of himself on the field.
Despite the lack of explosiveness or quickness to Wilson’s game, he did set a career high with 43 receptions with the Dolphins in 2019 — and Wilson seemed to finally regain his 2018 form in the final 3 games of the 2019 season.
But fleeting glimpses of production aren’t going to be enough to justify a salary cap hit in excess of $10M this upcoming season for Wilson in Miami. Wilson is due $9.5M in cash if nothing changes between now and the 2020 season, plus a $1.3M prorated portion of his signing bonus will also be applied to Miami’s cap space.
So the question begs to be asked: should Wilson stay, could he be traded or could he be cut? We can rule out a trade pretty quickly — few teams are going to sign up for such a sizable base salary. Wilson’s price tag for 2020 and his durability issues make him nearly un-tradable. Could Wilson be cut? Absolutely, but one could argue that based on the final month of the season for Wilson, that should be treated as the last resort.
Could Miami get Wilson to agree to a contract restructure? If so, there’s no need for the Dolphins to make an additional need on the roster where so many already exist. Miami’s preferable outcomes involving Albert Wilson should be as follows:
- Agree to a contract restructure, keep him in 2020
- Trade him (They won’t find a buyer, though)
- Cut him outright
- Keep him on his existing deal
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